City · Webster County, Kentucky

Providence, Kentucky

Providence is a city in Webster County, Kentucky, part of the Henderson, KY metro area. It has 2,857 residents. Providence, Kentucky has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,110 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Kentucky it ranks #202 of 243 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), pharmacies (high) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and primary care physicians (low).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,110 of 15,651 cities and towns
Kentucky: #202 of 243 in KY
Population: 2,857 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 473.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2163372

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety83#2,723/15,637
Economy24#11,889/15,631
Housing100#72/14,977
Health6#14,611/15,609
Healthcare12#13,811/15,650
Environment6#14,454/15,453
Education12#13,718/15,649
Infrastructure12#13,774/15,650
Community26#11,635/15,651
Leisure & amenities11#13,951/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Providence, Kentucky ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Webster County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Home price to income ratio · low1.1×
100/100Kentucky 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Pharmacies · high3.9 /10k
99/100Kentucky 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWebster County value
Rent-burdened households · low11.9%
99/100Kentucky 45.4%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Violent crime rate · low33 /100k
99/100Kentucky 212 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureWebster County value
Job growth · high4.6%
97/100Kentucky -0.4%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataWebster County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.9%
97/100Kentucky 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low25.5%
2/100Kentucky 69.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWebster County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.8 /10k
2/100Kentucky 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWebster County value
Primary care physicians · low16 /100k
3/100Kentucky 63 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWebster County value
Dentists · low16 /100k
3/100Kentucky 67 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWebster County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Kentucky 2.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWebster County value
Mental health providers · low39 /100k
4/100Kentucky 329 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWebster County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
3,027 (2015-2019) → 2,857 (2020-2024)
−5.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.7 /1k (2021) → 2.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+308%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
48.8% (2015-2019) → 11.9% (2020-2024)
−37 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
57.5% (2015-2019) → 22.7% (2020-2024)
−35 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.2% (2015-2019) → 91.2% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$26,129 (2015-2019) → $55,121 (2020-2024)
+111%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Providence, Kentucky improved on 6 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved6

Household income+111%$26,129 → $55,121
Child poverty−35 points57.5% → 22.7%
Poverty−17 points37.3% → 19.9%
Inequality−0.1360.508 → 0.372
Broadband+26 points65.2% → 91.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Providence, Kentucky between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.8 min2015-2019	31.8 min2020-2024	+5.0 min	Within the margin of error	10%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.0%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	65.2%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	57.5%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	−35 points	Improved	99%
Effective property tax rate	0.77%2015-2019	0.77%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	16%
High school diploma or higher	77.3%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	1.1×2020-2024	−0.9×	Improved	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5082015-2019	0.3722020-2024	−0.136	Improved	98%
Median household income	$26,1292015-2019	$55,1212020-2024	+111%	Improved	99%
Poverty rate	37.3%2015-2019	19.9%2020-2024	−17 points	Improved	98%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Providence, Kentucky five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Providence, Kentucky in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Providence, Kentucky itself moved +17.4 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,857 residents (±22)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,171 households (±117)

Providence, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Under $25k23%†269
$25k–50k22%†263
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,171 households (±117)

Providence, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Own58%678
Rent42%493

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,076 workers (±168)

Providence, Kentucky
Kentucky share

Drive alone66%706
Carpool25%†272
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Henderson, KY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Webster County, the county holding most of Providence's residents.

Webster County has 202 employer establishments, 158 for every 10,000 residents (0.64× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Kentucky's), with 1,822 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,745. The Census Bureau also counts 696 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 202; 696 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 158; US 248 · Kentucky 207
Paid employees: 1,822
Average annual pay: $47,745; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Webster County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Religious organizations	22	17.3	3.11×More than typical	56	$14,482	—
Truck transportation	16	12.6	2.48×More than typical	121	$62,182	13
Ambulatory health care services	13	10.2	0.49×Fewer than typical	114	$42,649	15
Restaurants and other eating places	12	9.4	0.51×Fewer than typical	130	$12,162	8
Specialty trade contractors	12	9.4	0.61×Fewer than typical	270	$82,530	73
General merchandise stores	9	7.1	4.00×Too few to compare	52	$21,346	5
Banks and credit unions	8	6.3	1.94×Too few to compare	82	$80,268	—
Gasoline stations	8	6.3	1.94×Too few to compare	54	$18,278	—
Health and personal care stores	7	5.5	2.07×Too few to compare	56	$48,446	7
Limited-service restaurants	7	5.5	0.68×Too few to compare	102	$11,167	5
Pharmacies and drug stores	6	4.7	3.79×Too few to compare	55	$48,964	—
Building equipment contractors	5	3.9	0.65×Too few to compare	217	$91,217	18

Rank places for an industry Open Webster County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,746 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Providence is mostly in Webster County.

See federal money in Webster County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Providence, Kentucky is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

James ComerR-KY-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Webster County19100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Henderson, KY26

Other cities and towns in Webster County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2163372

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends